


the cold inside our bones

by SebGray



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Birth Control, Creampie, F/M, Love Confessions, Penis In Vagina Sex, Pregnancy, Public Sex, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Winter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-13 14:21:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21495700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SebGray/pseuds/SebGray
Summary: In the harsh winter of the north, Caleb and Jester finally come together after a long while of yearning. But well-laid plans don't always work out the way you want them to.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 16
Kudos: 119





	1. chapter one

Winter had set into the woods like the cold dampness from the snow they’d been wading through had seeped into their socks. Everyone was huddled together in Caleb’s Hut, snuggling to stay warm. They rotated watch, trying to sit up without freezing to death.

Caleb and Jester were second watch. The night sky beyond the trees was beautiful, as was the glittering beds of snow surrounding the perfect circle Caleb had melted out of it. The ground was dry thanks to Jester’s spell, but the air was still frigid and their clothes were still a bit wet. 

It didn’t take much for Caleb to realize Jester was shivering. There was only so much her cold resistance could do, and her coat, while admittedly very pretty, was also too thin for this region. He scooched up closer to her. “Hey,” he said, coat pulled close, a ratty old blanket covering his legs.

“Hey,” she said. Her teeth chattered softly, and her hands were buried under her armpits as she sat there, curled up for body heat.

“You need my coat?” Caleb asked, beginning to take it off.

“No, you keep it. You need it.” She poked him in the side. Her hands shook.

“How about we share?” He took off the coat and scooched next to her, sharing the blanket, barely enough to cover both of them, and then the coat, laying it on top of them. To get under it, they had to lay down. “Is that better?”

“Yeah,” she said. “But now we can’t see as much without straining our necks.” She tried to look behind her to demonstrate, curling her head back.

“True. But, I have that silver thread up, and both of us are fairly perceptive. We should be fine if the innkeeper at the last town was right and these woods are safe.” He smiled softly, trying to allay both of their anxiety.

“Alright,” she said. At first, they were both on their backs, close enough to just faintly feel each other’s body temperature but far enough that they weren’t technically touching. But then Jester started tossing and turning, moving around a lot, trying to find a comfy spot. Every so often, she’d accidentally touch him, always murmuring a sleepy apology but never really stopping or settling. Finally, she bundled up an old shirt from her backpack and used it as a pillow, tucking it underneath her head to prop it over her horn so she could lay on her side, facing him. They were probably going to fall asleep at this rate, but oh well. Beau and Nott could pester them in an hour and seventeen minutes. Caleb sighed and turned over to get comfortable and--

Scheisse, that was too close for comfort.

Their noses were almost touching. He could feel her slow, steady breath on his lips. There had been many times they had touched, sure, and she had almost, sort of kissed him on the ship when she was pretending she knew how to do mouth-to-mouth, but this was...strange. The whole thing on the ship was unexpected, and over within seconds, but the pause since he moved felt unusually long. He...could move in and kiss her. It wasn’t like he hadn’t pictured it, imagined it for weeks, like he hadn’t secretly hoped for it to happen. But now, he could do it, and he was frozen. If Caleb did it, and she didn’t want it, it could ruin everything. She would see him for the monster that he is.

So he tried to busy himself. To not look at her face while not moving from this position. It wasn’t his fault he liked to sleep on this side out of nowhere now. Total coincidence.

His eyes just so happened to return to her face when he notices Jester’s lips were curled into a grin. “You know, Caleb, you could just kiss me and be done with it.”

Gottverdammt, he thought as he froze, feeling his cheeks warming beneath the icy chill.

She opened her eyes, looking at him with a soft gaze. “You’re blushing, Caleb,” she said, tired but somehow still mischievous.

“It’s cold. My face is red because of the temperature.” He tried to lie, but he was too tired to make a proper attempt.

“Uh-huh. And you suddenly like sleeping on your side instead of your back because…?”

Caleb sighed, knowing she was going to see right through him no matter what he said. “Won’t someone hear us?”

“You’re stalling. And honestly, who cares? It’s not like I haven’t heard some of them doing naughty things before.” Jester waggled her eyebrows.

“Gross,” he said.

She snickered, then sighed. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Caleb. But unless you really don’t want to...then you should do it. Besides, it would be a really good way to warm up.”

After a moment’s thought, he nodded. “Okay. It has been a very, very long time, though.”

“Dude. I have touched two people’s lips with mine so far, and neither of those instances technically count as kisses. You could be terrible and probably still impress me.”

“Okay. Okay.” Caleb closed his eyes, took a deep breath and leaned in.

Their lips were chapped, rough from the cold, dry air. But behind that was a soft warmth, and Caleb felt himself slowly give in. Their bodies inched closer. Then her hand moved up his arm, his shoulder, to hold his cheek. She wore gloves, but her fingertips were showing, becoming small points of cold on his warm skin. Slowly, his hand cautiously held her hip, expecting her to squirm away but no, she moved closer.

After the longest moment, Jester pulled away. “Caleb, I want more,” she whispered, kissing at his jaw, his neck.

“Jester, someone will hear us,” he whispered. “We’re already risking it as it is--”

“Please,” she said in a hushed voice, directly in his ear.

Gods, nothing was more tempting than that.

Caleb shivered a little. This was a terrible idea, his brain knew, but his body wanted it so badly, he could feel arousal pool between his legs like the rush of blood to your head when you flipped upside down.

Normally, he was good at avoiding passion.

But passion had never come in the form of Jester, and he could never say no to her.

He surged forward, kissing her more. With new boldness, his hands touched her breasts, her ass, her thighs. She reciprocated the new energy, pulled him close, flipping over so he was on top of her, wrapping her legs around his hips to bring the tent of his pants against her. They both moaned softly at the slight pressure. She giggled and teased, “You’re hard, Caleb.”

“Of course I am, Jester,” he said, lips so close to hers they grazed each other.

“Take off my clothes,” she said, sultry even in a whisper.

“No time,” he said. “I want to make love to you.”

That got another giggle from her. “You’re so romantic, Caleb, even when you’re about to pound me.”

“How can I not be, with you?” Caleb’s voice felt surprisingly softer now.

“So you are secretly in love with me,” she whispered in amazement.

“Who says it’s a secret?” he teased, moving to kiss her neck as he reached down to push up her skirt.

“Well, I’m not-so-secretly in love with you,” she said, so quiet he could barely hear it. But he did, and he continued in earnest.

Her underthings felt like silk and lace, probably beautiful and expensive, so he opted to slide it down rather than ripping it off. His blackened fingertips found her cunt, warm and wet like her mouth. Caleb kissed her to quiet her moans as he found her clit, rubbing softly. Even after nearly two decades, his muscle memory remained.

“Caleb,” she whispered, moaning softly. Her voice got high when she moaned, and gods, the sound of it went right to his cock. “Caleb, fuck.” 

His fingers dipped to her hole, pushing in one at a time. He had feared that she was inexperienced, and did not want to hurt her by going in too early.

But they slid in like a dream.

Jester gripped the ground as she bit her lip, trying to stifle her moans as he fingered her open. Every so often, she would mutter his name, or “Please,” or “More,” or “Oh Traveller, Caleb,” and with the last one he could tell she was getting close. As beautiful and perfect her voice was as she was about to cum, he knew that with an orgasm she could slip, they could get caught, and nothing was a bigger turn-off than the idea of Beau being grossed out by the sound of them. So Caleb pressed back in and kissed her, picking up speed as much as possible without making too much sound.

He could feel the clench on his fingers and the moan on his lips as she came, and he tried to wring as much of the feeling out of her as possible. As soon as it had passed, he pulled back, and Jester was begging. “More, Caleb, please, I want you to fuck me, Caleb, I want you to ruin me--”

“Give me a moment, liebling,” he said softly, undoing his trousers and smallclothes, letting his cock come free. Gods, it was so hard and needy, it was wet with precum and far too sensitive. After a second’s navigation, he pushed in.

Never had Caleb Widogast felt such bliss.

After a slightly too-loud moan slipped out of him, he paused to check the others. Dead asleep. Good. He bottomed out in her quickly, and her eyes fluttered shut as her head tilted back and she moaned. He could feel her legs wrapping around him, pulling him in closer. Slowly, as he pressed their foreheads together, he began to move.

Caleb did his best to be quiet, but damn, it was almost impossible. He felt like a kid again, all noisy and sensitive and afraid someone would catch him. Jester wiped the dirt from her hands and held his cheeks, kissing him slowly as he fucked her. “Ich liebe dich,” he moaned as he slowly sped up.

“What does that mean?” she said, voice high and tight.

“It’s Zemnian for ‘I love you,’” he muttered, feeling his cheeks warm even beyond the sex flush.

Jester smiled, laughing softly. She said something in Infernal before kissing him, but he didn’t understand it.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“Guess,” she teased, moaning a little as he shifted slightly.

“Does it also mean ‘I love you’?” Caleb furrowed his brow.

“Yeah,” Jester said, smile wide as she nodded.

Caleb grinned. “Beautiful.” He leaned in and kissed her again, but the passion and joy in it made it messy, sloppy, intense. He slowly picked up speed, his free hand reaching down to her clit again. Rubbing it made her moan more, so he did his best to keep her mouth busy as they fucked.

She pulled away. “Caleb, I’m close,” she whispered.

“So am I, schatzie. What do you want me to do?” He didn’t slow down, but he could feel himself losing control.

“Is it bad that I want it inside me?” Jester muttered, eyes suddenly a bit nervous.

On the one hand, it kind of was. There would be a risk for pregnancy -- tieflings weren’t exactly the least fertile of races, and humans could breed with damn near anything -- but Caleb’s inhibitions had already been halfway thrown out the window. Might as well toss out the rest. “Okay, ja, but we’ll have to find an apothecary to find something to prevent anything, okay?”

Jester nodded. “Yeah, yeah we can do that. We’re a day away from the next city, we can find something.”

With that, Caleb kept going faster, kept rubbing at her clit. He kissed her, both to contain her noises and his. Eventually, she pulled him in tight and locked him there as he felt her body contract and his cock pour cum into her.

A moment passed, and the fuzziness of orgasm turned into bone-deep exhaustion. Caleb rolled off of her, cleaning himself up as best he could. Jester slipped a hand down and felt the cum left there. “Feels weird,” she whispered, making a slight face. But then she wiped off her hand and relaxed. “But it was worth it.” She smiled, leaning in for one last kiss.

Caleb pecked her sleepily. “I’m so tired, I don’t think I can stay up. Can you finish the watch on your own?”

“Yeah, I can. Get some sleep.” She kissed his forehead as she sat up, trying to stay close without looking too obvious.

“Okay. Good night.” Caleb snuggled under the blanket and coat. Frumpkin moved from Nott’s side to Jester’s lap, purring softly.

Jester smiled as she petted Frumpkin softly. “Good night, Caleb.”


	2. chapter two

The walk to the next town was only slightly better, and most of that was because of Caleb. Jester kept darting glances at him, smiling and making faces at him as they walked through the dull wintry landscape. Besides their glances, and his mentioning the time at every hour, there was little to entertain her besides sometimes swatting snow off of tree branches. But she didn’t act more affectionate with Caleb, really, even though she wanted nothing more than to latch onto his side and not let go. She didn’t know if he wanted things to be out in the open. And even beyond her own instincts, she wasn’t sure if she wanted their relationship to be open yet either. Everyone might tease them or rush them or something, and she didn’t want to change the dynamic of their group too much.

So Jester stayed as quiet as she could about it.

But she still made googly eyes at Caleb when no one else was looking, because if she didn’t do anything, she’d go nuts.

They arrived in town in the evening, when it was dark but not dreadfully so. Most of the shops were closing. They had to pass through most of the town to get to the local inn and there was not an apothecary to be seen amongst the rows of old, worn, snow-covered buildings. Oh dear. She’d have to ask the innkeeper about that in secret when she got a chance.

The inn was pretty busy. People sat in the tavern, drinking ale or mead or cider to warm up after working throughout the evening. This place was a mining town, not right next to the mountains where they dug up precious gems but within walking or cart-riding distance. There were dwarves and humans and a surprisingly stocky half-elf or two, with a few orcs and half-orcs thrown in for color. The party got their usual three rooms and warm meals. Jester ordered a cider, Caleb ordered an ale.

When they sat, Jester ended up next to Caleb. Nott was on the other side of him, talking about something or other. She was mostly focused on eating and trying not to seem so obvious whenever she looked at Caleb. Jester drank, too. The cider was warm and really tasty. She might have chugged it too quickly, though, because she really felt the alcohol. Her normally cold nose and cheeks felt rosy and pleasantly warm, but she also felt very dizzy. She took some time to eat, to keep herself from getting too drunk.

Most everyone was tired, and ended up going to bed early. Caleb, a bit conspicuously, did not accept Nott’s offer to go up to their room with her, instead opting to stay for another mug of ale. Jester grinned. “Well look at that, I was just thinking of ordering another cup of cider.” She smiled, and Nott gave her a puzzled look before heading up to bed.

Caleb sighed. “Finally. I’ve been wanting to talk to you all day.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ve also been wanting to do this…” She leaned in and kissed him. It wasn’t a full on makeout session, but it was sweet and tender, and damn it, her heart was floating in her chest with the feeling of it. 

With a smile, Caleb said, “Me too,” as he pulled back.

After the moment passed, Caleb took Jester’s hand and said, “I assume you have seen the lack of an apothecary, ja?”

Jester nodded. “Yeah. But, give me a second…” She craned her neck and called the barmaid forward. She was a cheery, chubby woman, an elf, middle-aged, it seemed. Her red hair was tied back and streaked with soft gray strands. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

The woman nodded. “Sure thing, hon.” She approached the two with a smile, her voice low, warm, friendly. “Something the matter?”

Leaning in, Jester whispered, “Do you have an apothecary? Someone we can buy potions from?”

“Not really an apothecary per se,” she responded. “We have clerics and healers and all that, though. What are you looking for?”

Caleb started turning red and hid his face behind his mug as he took a long drink. Jester ignored him and whispered, “Oh, well, you know, certain things for people who wanna  _ hrmm hrmm hrmm _ and not, you know, have any issues afterwards?”

With a quiet voice, the woman leaned in closer and said, “What, like diseases or…?” She mimicked a large belly with her hand.

“Babies,” Jester said, a bit bluntly. Caleb choked a little on his ale, setting down the mug and wiping the spit off with his coat sleeve.

The barmaid gave him a slight glare and said in a dull, flat tone, “I see. I’m pretty sure the local clerics deal some out on the down low, but you might have to go through the brothel near the edge of town to get them. Some of the folks here are a bit judgemental, even though they do the same damn things most of the other folks do.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Jester nodded. “I hate that.”

“Exactly.” The woman grinned a little. “Well, you can go there tonight. Tell ‘em Jillian sent you. Don’t worry about paying or anything. They know I only send folks who need it.”

“Thank you.” Jester quickly drank down her cider again, tossing down enough coins to pay for their drinks and meals and then some.

“Of course,” said Jillian, grinning as Caleb fished out a spare few silver coins and handed them to her as well. He mumbled a quick, “Danke,” as the two headed out into the cold winter air, snow crunching under their boots.

The brothel was named the Bella Union, and featured a worn sign with a chunk taken out of it, the top dusted with snow that glittered under the soft lights next to it. Jester took Caleb’s hand as she led the way in. Another middle-aged elf, a bit older than Jillian, but with long black hair that framed her face and heavy makeup above her eyes, sat at a small desk. She looked up, a bit surprised at the couple walking in. “Hello,” she said, in a soft but strong voice. “Are you coming in from town? Or looking for someone?”

Jester leaned in and said, “Jillian sent us,” feeling very conspiratory, like she was a spy smuggling drugs or something.

The woman nodded. “Ah. I see. Let me bring you to the back.” She brought the two around a dark hallway. Some rooms were illuminated behind the doors, some had people inside who were very clearly having their fun, and others were dark and quiet. A few doors were open, and women, men, and people of various other genders were standing out front in warm but somehow still sultry clothing. Caleb’s blush got worse, and Jester squeezed his hand to reassure him.

They ended up in an office in the back with a desk covered in neat stacks of papers and books on the wall with the door. The other four walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves of boxes of potions. “Jillian wouldn’t send you unless you needed something, so I assume it’s to prevent pregnancy?”

“Yes,” Jester said with a nod as she squeezed Caleb’s hand.

“Now, I hope you haven’t been fooling around already, because if you have, this might not work right. It can’t undo what has already started, but it can prevent anything else from happening. Got it?” The woman took out two bottles.

Jester nodded, doing her best to pretend absolutely nothing had happened between them. “Yep! We’re just preparing for the future. Didn’t want to do anything we can’t ensure is safe, you know?”

“Okay…” said the woman, handing over the bottles. They were wrapped in soft fabric so they were less likely to break, Jester assumed. “These two will last you a good long while. Take one sip before and after you do what you will, and if you need any more, I’m sure you can find it. It’s known as a Sailor’s Barrier in our business.”

With a snicker, Jester said, “Like seamen?”

“Exactly,” said the woman with a dull, flat tone. “If you want anymore than that, you’re gonna have to pay for it, alright?”

“Ja, danke,” mumbled Caleb. He began moving towards the door when Jester tugged him back in.

“Uh, do you guys do like...short rentals of rooms?” Jester asked.

“We can. We have a good handful of vacant rooms, and I can figure out a price for an hour or two. You wanna test the product?” The woman raised eyebrows at them, sighing but still neutral.

Jester nodded, but checked with Caleb. His blush was intense, but he nodded and went for his coin purse. “No, I got it,” she said, smiling as she grabbed her own money. 

The woman led them to the desk, and Jester rented out a nice room for two hours. They headed upstairs and unlocked the door, going in together. It was alright, not the Lavish Chateau, of course. But Jester tested the bed, and could tell the mattress was made of feathers, and the blankets of good, warm fur. She turned to Caleb, sliding off her Haversack. “Does everything look okay?”

Caleb didn’t answer, instead moving in for a kiss. She dropped the bag and let herself move to the bed, pulling him down with her as they were suddenly touching, all hands and lips and straddling legs. Jester began taking off her clothes, and Caleb followed, trying to hurry their clothes off.

Once Jester was naked, Caleb’s kisses began moving down her body. Before she knew it, he was on his knees by the bed, her legs perched on his shoulders as he ate her out like he was a starving man. His tongue was warm and forceful as she moaned, loud now that they weren’t surrounded by close friends. Her hands gripped the sheets as Caleb fucked her cunt with his tongue, slipping his fingers around to rub her clit as he did so. She came like a rushing wave, thighs locking down on his cheeks as her back arched and she  _ screamed _ .

When the orgasm passed, and she was still panting for breath, Jester scrambled to pull Caleb up, pull him close, because she wanted his cock inside her,  _ now. _ He was already hard, and quick to sheathe himself inside of her, moaning softly as he did so.

“Louder, Caleb,” Jester said, the comment broken off by a gasp of her own. “Please, I want to hear  _ you-- _ ” Her voice cracked into a squeal as her head rolled back.

“I will take that as a challenge,” Caleb muttered, before he began thrusting into her. From then on, he grunted, almost feral as he kissed along her neck, played with her breasts. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he fucked into her.

As they fucked, the room was filled with their voices.  _ Please, more, harder, fuck, Jester, Caleb, fuck me, gods, by the Traveller, you’re divine, I love you, I love you, I love _ \--

Jester cried out again, pulling Caleb in as he groaned. They came together, his cum pouring into her before they relaxed, his head falling against her chest.

After a minute, Caleb got up to grab the bottle. He paused. “ _ Schiesse _ ,” he muttered.

“What?”

“Did you take a sip before we started?” Caleb asked.

Fuck, she’d forgotten. “It’ll be fine.” Jester took the bottle and uncorked it. The liquid inside looked black, and it smelled awful. “Here goes...” She took a swig and gagged, her whole face tightening as she tried to keep it down. 

“How bad is it?” Caleb asked, concerned.

“It tastes like pee,” Jester asked. 

“I’m not gonna ask how you know that,” Caleb muttered, sighing. “You sure it will work?”

“It had fucking  _ better _ ,” Jester said, replacing the cork.

“I just...would hate for you to be burdened with a child.”

“I mean...” Jester paused. At first the thought of having a kid wasn’t  _ so _ bad. But then the potential nightmare of it hit her. They were high up north, far from her mother, a decent distance away from Xhorhaus, even further from Rexxentrum. The only towns near here were tiny and most likely poorly-equipped. Besides, there was so much on their plates. Traveller Con, the coming war, everything. Her mind quickly went to panic.

Caleb’s arms wrapped around Jester. He held her tight, letting her press her cheeks against the warm skin of his chest. “It will be okay,” he said, but she knew he wasn’t convinced.

Once she began to calm down, Caleb shifted so that they were lying down. He kissed Jester’s forehead, sighing. “I think we should talk to Caduceus. He can keep a secret, I am sure. We can continue using the potion, try our best. If nothing happens, then nothing happens. But if something happens, we need to know.”

Jester nodded. “Okay.” Her voice was low, tight with nerves.

“Come. We should get dressed. The others will get worried.”

Slowly, they got up, put on their clothes, gathered their things. She slipped the bottles into her bag, hefting it onto her shoulders. Before they left the small room, Jester stopped Caleb, standing up on tiptoe to kiss him.

“I love you,” she whispered.

Caleb grinned. “I love you, too,” he said softly.

Without saying much more, they headed downstairs.


End file.
